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| Plot Summary of Letters From the Earth |
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"Think of this as Twain outtakes. These essays and partial pieces were edited by Bernard DeVoto 30 years after Twain died, but the widow demurred, so they were not published until 1962, after the editor's death as well. In the title set, Satan visits Earth and writes back to his buddy angels about what a crazy place it is, and how odd a creature is man. This was probably pretty daring in Twain's time, but now seems a bit obvious and would appeal mainly to a growingly skeptical teen. There are mildly amusing excerpts from Methuselah's diary, and Eve's diary, scraps from a trip to England, the infamous philosophical rant "The Damned Human Race," and the promising fragment of a sci fi novel about a sailing ship crossing a drop of water on a microscope. The book's gem is an unfinished parody of books on etiquette (proper behavior at a funeral, how to address an unknown lady at a fire, etc.) that's a scream. Too bad he never finished it."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Letters From the Earth |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Political/social activism
Yes
Plotlet:
- general liberal/left wing activism
Animal story
Yes
Kind of animal:
- cat
Culture clash?
- visiting a culture in other country
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Main Character
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 2 ()
United States
Yes
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Water?
Yes
Water:
- lost at sea
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Unusual Style:
- No single main character?
Amount of dialog
- little dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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